South Dakota has the ‘it factor’ in government
Although I grew up in the state capital, the South Dakota Legislative session really didn’t mean a whole lot to me. I certainly wasn’t concerned with gay rights laws, South Dakota’s fiscal state, or affairs of legislators.
The two months of session in Pierre really meant two things to me: getting closer to spring and longer lines at Burger King. “Young punk” Nathan didn’t see his day-to-day affairs having any impact on matters of state government.
I’m not going to say that suddenly my interests have taken a turn for the better or towards politics, but even a semester at college has changed my idea of our state’s government. I’m suddenly following political writers around the state, checking legis.sd.gov once a day and actually caring for what’s going on back home.
I guess it was convenient for me to get an inside look at state government last week. I went on a small two-day trip for The Volante and walked away with an even greater appreciation than I had expected.
My days visiting the capital were filled with meetings with people such as Chief of Staff Dusty Johnson, lunch with legislators, and floor debates. It’s incredible how open everyone within our state’s government is to meeting with and speaking to the public. They were all ready to stop and speak with students and journalists.
We’re lucky enough to live in a state with such easy access to our leaders. Sometimes, the general consensus seems to be that we, as constituents, don’t have a voice in government, but these men and women aren’t working behind closed doors, our voices can be heard loud and clear.
Some of the House and Senate Republican leaders spoke out about their openness to a number of journalists in a press conference last Thursday. Justin Cronin said there’s no place in the nation where the people should feel closer to the men and women in government, as opposed to states like Minnesota, Texas or Washington, D.C.
It seems that South Dakota has the “it factor” in government. Sure, maybe we aren’t the flashy state with concerts every weekend; there are no professional sports teams; and we’re missing an ocean or two. But we have one perk that many states do not.
In South Dakota, our voices can be heard.
